Box-car door



Mar. 6, 1-923. 4 1,447,876

D. LEE

BOX CAR DOOR Filed July 12, l921 2 sheets-sheet 1 RNEY WITNESS:

INVENTOR Mar. 6, 1-923. 1,447,876 p. LEE.

BOX CAR DOOR Filed July 12, N21 2 sheets sheet 2 vENTQR ATTORNEYPatented Mar. 6, 1923.

FATENT Y BOX-CAR DOOR.

.Application filed July 12, 1921. Serial in. 484,166.

To, all whom c'tmay concern Be it known that I, DANIEL LEE, a citizen oftherUnited States, residing at Columbus, in the county of .Muscogee and"State of Georgia, have invented new, and useful Improvements inBox-CarfDoors, of which the following is a, specification.

My present invention has reference to sliding doors, and locking meanstherefor.

In carrying out my invention, I propose to produce, in a sliding door,means whereby the door is supported outwardly of,'and in open, positioninfront ofthe opening which is to be closed, leverioperated means formoving the ,door upwardly from such position into the opening, andlocking means for both the door and the, operating means forpositively-securing the door in closed position.

It isialso my, aim to produce, in a sliding door, hanger means whichwill retain the door, when in open position, outwardly with respect tothe structure on which it is suspended, and thereby insure the freesliding of the door, means limiting the sliding movement of the vdoor inboth directions, lever operated: means for moving the door into theopening therefor, interengaging means between the door and the walls ofthe opening whereby a tight fit is provided between these members andlocking means for the lever operating means for effectively holding thedoor in closed position.

It is also my object to produce a sliding door which is primarilydevised for use on freight cars in which the door is suspended from arail or track on the car in a manner to lower the door with respect tothe door opening as it is moved to its open position and to move thedoor outward from the car to insure the'free sliding of the door, alever carrying a fulcrum bar being pivotally secured to the door anddesigned, when the door is brought'opposite the opening to be swung toarrange the fulcrum bar on a suitable element secured to the car and byoperating the lever to raise the door and move the same bodily intothedoor opening, interengaging means being provided between the door andthe walls of the opening to insure a tight joint between these parts,and: means being also provided for locking the fulcrum bar lever to thecar to prevent the operation of these parts and to also sustain the doorin closed position.

"It is a still further object to produce a sliding door for'freightcars, in which the car has hinged therein, at the' door opening a swnging post having catches thereon, said post being suspended from theroof of the car when the door is open'and beingretamed n a verticallocked positionwlien the door is closed, said doorbeino suspended from atrack in 'a'manner where y the same Wlll be moved downwardly with,respect to the opening and outwardly with respectto the car when thedoor is in open position, the door having its ends and edges providedwith offset plates designed for engagement with recesses or grooves inthe frame of the door opening, the door having on itsouter face apivoted lever to which is pivoted a fulcrum bar-"that is designed, whenthe door.

ismoved opposite thedoor'. opening, to engage a depression 111 a,"bracket that issecured to the car and when the lever is swungdownwardly, to cause an upward and inward movement of the door to" bringthe same intothe opening and the plates'thereof into lappingengagementwith the plates of the door frame, the latches offtlie postpassing through slots in the door for holding the door against outwardmovement, and the bracket having a slot therethrougb for the receptionof the fulcrum bar when the door is in closed position, and lockingmeans being provided for retaining the fulcrun bar in the said slot. ItIS still a further object of the invention to simplify and improve theexisting art by producing a sliding doorxfor cars, and,

suspending'and operating means therefor which shall be ofsuch,construction-that when in closed position a positive grain tight oint,and practically, an airtight joint will be obtained between the door andambs' therefor.

The foregoing, and other objects which will present themselvesasthenature of the invention is better understood, maybe accomplished by aconstruction, combination and operative association of parts,- such asis disclosed by the drawingswhich accompany and which formpart-,'of'-'this-specification.

In the drawings Figure 1 is an elevation of a freight car showing a doorin accordance with thisin-- vention mounted thereon,1the said door being in closed: position.

Figure 2 is a sectional view onthe line 22 of Figure 1. i V

Figure 8 isa substantially similarsection arcs,

but showing the door swung outwardly and downwardly from the opening,the dotted lines indicating the post swung against the top of the car aswhen the door is fully open.

Figure 4 is a sectional view on the line 4- of Figure 1.

Figure is a sectional view on the line 55 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a sectional view on the line 6-6 of Figure 1.

Figure 7 is a vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale through amodified construction, the door being of wood and the hanger beingslightly difierent from that previously illustrated.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view approximately on theline 8-8 of Figure 7.

While in the accompanying drawings T have illustrated my sliding door inconnection with a freight car, it is to be under stood that theimprovement is not to be thus limited in its useful capacity and that Iam entitled to employ my construction for closing the openings in anyother bodies. It is also to be understood that any desired mate rial maybe employed and that I am not to be limited to shape, size, proportion,etc.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, a portion of a freight car, ofa common construction, is indicated by the numeral 1 and the dooropening by the numeral 2. The

sides or jambs of the door opening are rabbeted on their outerconfronting corners, being provided upon their faces with a recess 3 andupon their sides with a like recess 4 that of course communicates withthe recess 3. The top rail of the door opening is provided with an angleplate whose vertical portion 5 is disposed opposite but away from aplate 6 secured on the outer face of the top rail 7. Thus a groove orchannel is provided between the plates 5 and 6. The

sill or threshold, indicated by the numeral 8 has its outer edgebeveled, and secured upon the face of the said sill is a plate 9 thathas an angle portionlO disposed over the beveled edge of the thresholdstrip, the portion 10 of the plate having its end extended at anopposite or upward angle, as indicated by the numeral 11, and fromthence is bent downwardly, as at 12. The plate 9 thus has its outer edgeprovided with a substantially V-shaped groove.

Hingedly secured, as at 13, to the top rail 7 is a post 14. The post isof a length corresponding to the height of the door open ing and hasupon its inner face, at its lower end a bolt that is designed to bereceived by the straight portion of the threshold plate 9, and in thismanner the post id may be locked in the door opening. The post 1%, whenthe door is opened is swung against the roof of the car and held thussuspended in any desired or preferred manner. The

g eaner e elevated position of the post is indicated by the dotted linesin Figure 3 of the drawings. The post has secured thereon outwardlyextending latches 17 respectively.

Tn the preferred embodiment of the improvement, the door 18 isconstructed of sheet metal and has its outer face reinforced by crossedangle braces 19. The door, upon its outer face, and adjacent to itsupper corners has bolted or otherwise secured thereto the bracketmembers 20 of the hangers. Each bracket has pivoted thereon the swinging member 21 of the hanger. Each of the members 21 has its free endrounded upon-itself or otherwise provided with an eye 22 through whichpasses a cross sectionally rounded rod 23, the said rods being securedin the eyes by pins 24:.

On the outer face of the plate 6 of the car there is secured anadditional plate or strip 25. To this strip there are connected bybrackets 26 tubular members 27 respectively that receive therein theends of the rods 28. Outward of the brackets 26 there are secured on thestriphousings 28 in which there are journaled upper and lower spacedgrooved wheels 29 between which the rod 23 passes, the said wheelsguiding the rod in its movement through the tubular members 27. Thehinged connection between the hanger members 20 and 21 is such that whenthe door is moved out of the door opening, and these members are inalignment with each other, the door will drop below the opening, so thatits upper edge will be brought a slight but suitable distance below therail 7 and its lower edge a similar distance below the threshold strip.In addition to this, the hinged hangers permit of the door being movedoutwardly away from the side of the car, and when in such position, thelower edge of the door is received in the grove of a wheel 30 which hasits shaft or trunnions journaled in suitable hearings in a yoke-likehousing 31 that is secured to the outer face of the car adjacent to thelower right hand corner of the door opening. When the door is in suchposition it will be evidentthat the same can be readily slid away fromthe door opening, and the contacting engagement of one of the members 24of the hanger with one of the housings 28nvill limit the sliding of thedoor to open position.

Below the sill or threshhold there is secured upon the outer face of thecar an angle bracket 32. The horizontal member of this bracket isprovided upon its upper face and adjacent to its outer edge with acup-like depression 33 and inward of the said depression with an opening3%. On the outer face of the door 18 there is secured an outstandingbracket 35 that provides a bearing.

for a swivel member in the nature of a pin 6 tbl -b' 'dd o em a e meansem pro 71 e ioi re llO timing the hamster- 1e ver"3 8'"is 'a fiilcrumlbar '40: Thelower end 4 of this-bar is rounded and the said bar; 111ward'ofthesaidrrounded end'is'provided with aitransve'rse openingAIfiThedoor' is pro-vided with slots 42i'tl1at are" disposed; o posite thecatches "17' on3 the pos t 'in -ixr itsbe aringr The'phi hasr pivoted'to t sides}?'atj theportion {thereof b'eldw' its "bearinggthearms' 37"provided by?" v I and'tlieffulc rum 'memberiin"cldsing meadow Pivoted,as at 39 between'the arms 37015 the O efof 1.; To open he'do l iiwhen'thtestis s'wlfiig"vrticallyiinvthe f do'or .lope ning.

Whentjthe .dderis swunggpn as hath-to"- arrangeithe sameoppositethedoor-opening,'jfj v H M p e I g I, a and isflesi gned toengageftheinner-alas of! the lever 138;? is swung to"'thepositi'oniillus;-trat'din Figure 30f the drawingaand the fulcrum rod"40 "ismoved' tobi-ingfjits; lower downward. push is then "exerted' on the lever 38'whiichl will have a tendencyof both mov-' ing the door inward of theopening and up-' wardlydnfsaid opening. This brings the openings 42 1 ina position to receive there-- through the catches 17 on the posts. Theopenings n 'are of a greater lengththanthe width of the catches andconsequently'the door is permitted to move a determinedidis ta-nceupward inthe door opening'so that the upper, edgesof the door will bepositioned inside of the vertical portion of the "angle platev 5.- Itshould have been stated that the edges of the door are flangedoutwardly, as zit-423 and from thence'exte'nded to pro' vide lipsAti-llThe flanges 42 are received in the depressions 4 of the jambs ofthedoorg and the lips 43- are received in thedepressions 3 'of the said"jambs' when the door-is closed; The. door is then permitted,

- the outer plate o5,similar' to the plate "25',

toTgravitatea slight distance downward in the door opening, and'thelower edge ofthe door which;isprovided-with an angle flange 44:-isireceived in the substantially V shaped' groove provided on the plate9 that is secured-Ito the-threshold strip. In this malt nergit will beseen that there are 00-- engaging means betweenthe: sides and-edges 32.In this manner it wil be noted that the door is not only easily, quicklyand accuratel v brought to closed position, but that a grain tight andpractically air tight joint is provided between the door and the wallsmeted t0 the door by'the boltstathat se ure a is hingedly connected.The" swinging me'm 1 vided with :a lever; similar to thelever-38 plate"49"fwh'ieh is secured" inwardly-jot the plate tq" on'{-the"top'rail'f'of the doorway, as, I plate f 51, having f its lower-"edinclined? downwardly j and outwardly J'is esign'ed to" be" received "m-the v shaped roove 52 *oh; the outer end of a plate 53''that is securedon the threshold strip 54 andan ;angle late- "55 issecu're'dtotheedges-"of;the door" thatjare" "designed to be receivedg in recessesor "depressions '56 nd "57', similar to the pre'ssions 3 and '4. Thehanger is" Of'asome what difi'erent construction "to j that" p're veuslyideseribed; the {fi iied eleni'entf of the' hanger; indicated by,the numeral- '58 .iseo'n' 9 5 v the plate 'is- 'u orith'e inner face of'thei'do'or" and to the member "58 the swi'ngingfjmemhr:

ber, indicated" the nmrieral" 60 "has its oo outer 'end formed with ayoke 62 between the side members ofwhi'ch' there is journaled f theshaft or trunnion-of 'agrofove d wheel 63, and this grooved whe eltravels 'on a cross sectionally rounded rail-'64 that/is; secured-to ofthe;car.' While notdisclosed in'Fi'gures' 7 and 8 of the drawings, thedoor 58' is pro;

that "carries a fulcrum ban similar-to f the *'110 bar and there is abracket similar 'to th'efi o bracket. 32-that is engaged bythe' fulcrum?rod andfthat-Iis locked to the bracketwhen the door vis closed. It'listo be noted "that the lips provided byqthe angle' members Jon the loweredge. of the door, when-brought? into contact with'thelipsfprovidedoutward-"1 of the angle grooves of the plates on thethreshold strips, serve as guide members for directing the door bothinwardly and upwardly in the closing of the door, and it is'thought thatthe foregoing description, when taken in connection with the drawingswill fully set forth the construction, opera- 1 tion and advantages ofthe improvement and 125 that further detailed descriptionwill there-tfore not be considered necessary. 1 l Having described the invention,Iclaim 1. Incombination with a structure having a door opening, a doorfor closing the open lie ing and a track secured above the door, ofjointed hangers between the track and door whereby the upper and loweredges of the deer are disposedoutwardly and slightly below the upper andlower walls of the door opening respectively when the. door is in openposition, anti-frictional guide means receiving the lower in suchposition, a, slotted bracket on the door belowthe opening, a leverpivoted to the door, a enema rod pivoted to the lever, and said leverdesigned tobe operated when the fulcrum rod arranged on the bracket toarrange and to move the door into the opening, when the said door isbrought opposite the opening, interengaging ineans between the door andopening, guide means provided by toe lower interengaging means wherebyto direct the door in its movement into the opening, and said "fulcrumrod, when the door is closed designed to be received in the slot of thebracket. v

2. In combination with a structure having door opening and a door forclosing the opening, of a tr? il on the structure above the door ope-ng, hollow l'llBIQlJQTS secured to the structure and receiving the endsof the track therein, anti-frictional means between the track and saidmembers, hangers comprising jointed sections between the track anddoor,whereby, when the door is open the upper and lower edges oi thesame will be arranged outwardly oi? and slightly'below the upper andlower walls of the door. opening respectively, revoluble guide and.supporting means engaging the l ow er ed'go of the door when the latteris open, a hinged post in the structure designed to be arranged in thedoorway, latches thereon, means tor'loclring the post in verticalposition to arrange the latches opposite the door and for sustaining thepost in the structure when in door engaging position, a bracket on thestructure below the door opening, a lever pivoted to the door, a"fulcrum rod pivoted to the lever anddesigned to rest on the bracket,when the door is brought opposite the opening, and, upon the depressionof the lever to raise the door and move the same into the opening, meanson 'the'door receiving the latches when in closed position,interengaging means between the door and the walls of the opening, thelower edge of the door when interengaging means providing guides for Lng the ,doortoclosed position, and

direct means ror locking thefulcrum bar to the bracket and the leveragainst the fulcrum bar, when the door is closed. 1

- lln combination with a structure having a door opening, a'door forclosing said opening, said door having openings therein,

a post hingedly mounted in the door openof and slightly below thetop andbottom oil the door opening respectively when the door is opened,brackets having anti-frictional elements therein secured to the[structure and supporting the track, a roller mounted below the dooropening adapted to be engaged by the lower edge of the door when, saiddoor is opened, lever operated means for moving the door upwardly intothe opening, locking means for the lever operated means, andinterengaging means between the edges of the door and thesides or 'cheopening to provide a tight joint.

ln con'rbination with a structure havv a door opening providedwith'recesses 1 the sides or" the frame thereof, an angle late securedto the top of said opening, a late secured to the bottom of said openinga channel therein, a door having 7 Jigs therein, flanges on the edges ofthe i001. adapted to engagesaid recesses and 'hannel, a traclr securedto the structure hove the door opening, hanger members pivotallysupporting said door "from the traclr in a position outwardly of theopening to permit sliding movement of same, means on the structureproviding a support and a guide for the door when in open position,lever operated means for moving the door into and out oi the opening, apost mounted in the opening, and latches carried by the. post adapted toenter the openings in the door when same is moved to closed positioi onits hangers.

In testimony whereof l affix ture.

' DANIEL LEE.-

: o on" my signa-

